The information provided herein and references cited are provided solely to assist the understanding of the reader, and do not constitute an admission that any of the references or information is prior art to the present invention.
Bones are rigid organs forming part of the endoskeleton of vertebrate animals. They function to move, support, and protect various organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells and store minerals. Bones come in a variety of shapes and have a complex internal and external structure. They are strong, hard and lightweight.
Bone is a dynamic tissue, constantly remodeling itself in response to the forces of impact and loading. Bones are made up of two types of bone tissue, cortical bone and trabecular bone. Cortical bone is the dense bone that gives bones their shape and strength. It makes up about 80% of the adult skeleton. Trabecular bone is a ‘mesh like’ or honeycomb bone that forms in the ends of the long bones surrounding the bone marrow.
Serious bone injuries are generally attributed to normal bone reacting to abnormal circumstances however this is often not the case. Bone injuries can be caused through abnormal bone reacting to normal impact and loading. Many bone injuries result from areas of weakened bone along with small stress fractures that predispose the bone to more serious injury. For example osteoporosis is a consequence of an imbalance between bone formation and resorption of bone. Increasing bone density or building stronger bone is vital in order to prevent serious bone injury.
It would be desirable to provide methods of increasing bone density in an animal so as to prevent bone injury and to provide compositions suitable for the same.